


Do I Look Like Quvenzhané To You?

by Levis_turtles



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Not In Space AU, Slow Burn, annie au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 12:12:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11623275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Levis_turtles/pseuds/Levis_turtles
Summary: When Lotor takes over his family's company, he has to deal with the dozens of mistakes made by his father before he died. And when the opportunity presents itself for Lotor to mend his inherited reputation with the orphans of New York, he finds himself in a most unexpected position.





	Do I Look Like Quvenzhané To You?

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all: "Hey, Levi? Are you going to finish that other Lancelot fic you have going on anytime soon?"
> 
> Me, writing this in the dead of night when I should probably be dreaming about mountains or some shit: "Of course!"

“Lance!” Mrs Dominic called. Her voice was almost immediately followed by her body, slamming into the wall as she drunkenly stumbled through the door. “Lance, where are you?”

 

“I’m in here,” Lance said, drawing attention to where he was sat in a corner of the living room. He was tucked up in an old armchair, a book balanced on one knee as a sleeping child rested on the other. He said, “Could you be a little quieter, please? Keith’s just dropped off.”

 

“Oh, I’m _sorry_ ,” Mrs Dominic spat, using her foot to slam the living room door behind her. “I didn’t realise that _you_ were the mother in this situation, Lance. I was under the impression that caring for these children was _my_ responsibility.”

 

“So was I,” Lance muttered. To Mrs Dominic, he said, “I’m sorry that I offended you. Do you need anything before I lock up and put Keith to bed?”

 

“A bath,” Mrs Dominic said. “A hot one. I need to get some moisture back into my thighs or they’ll be _burning_ tomorrow.” She stumbled further into the room, falling into the sofa adjacent to Lance’s chair. “Lance,” she said, quieting her voice as if she were telling him a secret, “if you’re ever with a man, and he insists that you do it on the floor, make sure that he doesn’t have a carpet. Because kid, let me tell you, carpet burn _burns_.”

 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lance said, supporting Keith’s lower back as he rose to a stand. He carried Keith to the bedroom he shared with the other kids in the house, setting him in his cot and tucking his thin blanket around his chin. Before he left the room, Lance pressed a gentle kiss to Keith’s forehead, wishing him sweet dreams before he closed his bedroom door.

 

Back in the bathroom, Mrs Dominic was already taking off her clothes, unbuckling her belt and sliding her worn jeans down her skinny legs. Lance didn’t look at her as he started running her bath, focusing on the bubbles of soap as they swirled around the tub rather than her rapidly growing state of undress.

 

“You know,” Mrs Dominic said, stepping up to Lance to run a hand along the waistband of his pyjamas, “you could always get in with me. It’s a big bath, after all.”

 

“I shouldn’t,” Lance said, faux-casually slipping himself out of Mrs Dominic’s grasp. “Not to mention that I won’t be eighteen for almost a year.”

 

Lance was actually already eighteen – his birthday had past months ago, though nobody knew. He couldn’t allow himself to age out of the system – not until he was sure that he could take the rest of the kids with him – so he’d asked a friend to help him out and change his records, making him legally almost two years younger.

 

“That hasn’t stopped me before,” Mrs Dominic said. “I once had a boyfriend that was over _ten_ _years_ younger than me.”

 

“Good for you,” Lance said. The bath was almost full, so he turned off the tap and took a step back. “I’m going to bed now, if that’s alright with you. I have to get up early for work tomorrow.”

 

“Okay,” Mrs Dominic said. She reached out a hand to pat Lance’s cheek, pinching it slightly between her forefinger and thumb. “You’re a good boy.”

 

“Thanks, Mrs Dominic,” Lance said, catching her hand and squeezing it before setting it back down at her side. “See you in the morning?”

 

Mrs Dominic barked a laugh. “Lance,” she said, “if you _ever_ dare to wake me up in the _morning_ , I’m sending you to group home, do you understand?”

 

Lance smiled, recognising her empty threat for exactly what it was. “Good night, Mrs Dominic.”

 

“Good night, Lance.”

 

.

 

When Lance woke up the next morning, it was to the sound of half a dozen tiny voices.

 

“It’s my turn to wake him up!” Somebody yelled.

 

“Nuh uh, Allura! You got to do it on Wednesday! Friday is _my_ day!”

 

“There aren’t enough of us to do a day each, Keith! Besides, Shiro did it yesterday and I always go after Shiro, so that means today is _my_ day.”

 

“Why don’t you all wake me up?” Lance suggested, rolling over to bury his face in his pillow. “Make it a team effort or something.”

 

“Lance!”

 

Suddenly, Lance’s body was weighed down by six tiny people, their screams of delight something that Lance never wanted to hear this early in the morning again. Alas, if they didn’t wake him up, he probably wouldn’t get up, and that just wouldn’t do.

 

“Okay,” Lance said, rolling on to his back and shimmying up the bed. “Where is everyone?”

 

“We’re all here,” Matt said, crawling backwards to sit at Lance’s hip. “Allura got up first because she’s the one with the alarm clock. Then Shiro, because Allura _always_ wakes Shiro up first. Then Shiro woke me, and I woke Pidge, and Pidge woke Hunk, and Hunk grabbed Keith, and then we all came in here to wake _you_.”

 

“Is that so?” Lance asked, a feeling of warmth spreading through his chest as he looked at Matt’s smiling face. “Well, thank you all for waking me, as always.”

 

“It’s okay,” Hunk said. He reached for Lance with his chubby hands and Lance was happy to obey, scooping Hunk into his arms and running his fingers over his throat to tickle him under his chin. “We like helping you out.”

 

“Well, good,” Lance said. He waited for the kids to clear a path for him to climb out of bed and he carried Hunk to the kitchen, the rest of the kids following after him like baby geese chasing their mother. “Wanting to be helpful is a very good quality to have.”

 

“ _We know_ ,” the kids all chimed together.

 

“Then I’ve taught you well,” Lance laughed, setting Hunk down on the counter while his brothers and sisters all took their seats at the table. Glancing at Hunk, who was looking at Lance with shining eyes, he asked, “Are you gonna help me with breakfast?”

 

Hunk snorted, smiling. “As if you could ever make breakfast on your own.”

 

“Hey!” Lance cried, clutching his heart with feigned offence. “That’s rude!”

 

“That’s the truth,” Pidge said, eliciting a laugh from the rest of the kids. “Your food is all _weird_.”

 

“My food is all _Cuban_ ,” Lance said, reaching up to pull seven bowls out of the cupboard. “Stuff my grandma taught me to make.”

 

“Well, its gross,” Pidge said.

 

“Well,” Lance retorted, “we can’t all live off a diet of turkey dinosaurs and mushy peas.”

 

“Just because you’re a _vegetarian_ ,” Pidge said, rolling her eyes. “Everyone else here likes turkey dinosaurs, so _you’re_ the odd one out.”

 

“Touche,” Lance said, knowing when he’d been beaten. He handed a box of cereal to Hunk and let him pour the flakes into the bowls, handing each filled bowl to Shiro to distribute around the table. When the bowls were all set out, Lance helped Hunk down from the counter and grabbed the carton of milk from the fridge. It was passed around the table quickly, everyone adding their own to the bowl, and Lance smiled at them as they dug in to their breakfast.

 

His family was strange, but he loved them all the same.

 

When the kids were done with breakfast, Lance handed them all their lunchboxes and shipped them off to school, making sure to kiss each and every one of them on the forehead before they walked through the door.

 

They left the house at five to eight, leaving Lance with only ten minutes to get ready for work before he had to leave. He pulled on his uniform as he brushed his teeth, fastening the small black apron around his waist as he walked through the door.

 

The restaurant Lance worked for was a five-minute walk from their house, but if he wanted to make it there on time, Lance had to leave the house ten minutes early or he wouldn’t be able to grab a cup of coffee for his boss on the way there. As it was, Lance was walking through the workers door just as the main entrance was being opened for the first hoard of customers, hanging his coat up on the rack just a second before he bumped into his boss, slipping the coffee into his hand as he brushed past.

 

“Hey, Lance!” Coran called after him, but Lance didn’t have time to turn around. He stopped at the first occupied table he saw, cocking his hip as he pulled out a notebook and flipped to an empty page.

 

“Are you ready to order?” He asked.

 

The women at the table smiled. “We’ll have to usual,” one of them said, and Lance said their usual order back to them just to make sure he had it right.

 

He did.

 

A day’s work at the cafe wasn’t strenuous – Lance actually rather liked it. He was good with the customers and he got good tips and the hours were flexible. Coran understood that Lance had a family to take care of and he was always telling Lance that if he ever needed to change his shifts or take some time off, it wouldn’t affect his position there at all.

 

Lance appreciated that, especially since he was trying to balance two jobs at once.

 

Lance’s first job, at the cafe, went towards paying the bills. His pay was given to Mrs Dominic every month and she used it to purchase food and gas and electricity and everything else that needed to be bought.

 

Lance’s second job, on the other hand, was more of a secret than anything else. He worked nights at the local pub, and the money he earned from that went towards the kids. If they ever needed to pay for a school trip, or some new clothes, or any other nice things that Mrs Dominic wouldn’t pay for, Lance would buy it for them.

 

“ _Lance_ ,” Coran said, rushing up to Lance and grabbing him by the arm before Lance had the chance to rush off to another table. “I’ve been trying to talk to you all morning.”

 

“Oh, sorry Coran,” Lance apologised, rubbing the palm of his hand against the back of his neck. “It’s been pretty busy this morning.”

 

“I know,” Coran said, “and you’re doing an excellent job, but I have a favour to ask you.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Would you be able to go a few blocks that way,” he pointed in a random direction, “and pick up some of that nice French cheese that I can’t pronounce?”

 

“Camembert?” Lance asked, scrunching his nose. “Why?”

 

“Because I’ve been craving it for days,” Coran said, “and I couldn’t ask anyone else to get it for me because I don’t know how to say it. I’ve been waiting for you to come back all week, just _please_.”

 

“Okay,” Lance laughed, dislodging Coran’s arms from his own. “I’ll get you your weird cheese.”

 

“Thank you!” Coran cried, clutching Lance to his chest. “Don’t tell the other’s, but you’ve always been my favourite.”

 

“We already know that, Coran,” Steph called, poking her head through the window separating the eating area from the kitchen.

 

“You don’t know anything,” Coran protested. “Now get back to work, before I fire you all.”

 

“Except for _Lance_ ,” Steph teased, slipping back into the kitchen with a smile on her face.

 

Coran pulled a face at her retreating form and Lance laughed, grinning at Coran as he ushered him out of the cafe, stuffing a handful of notes into Lance's hands as he closed the door in his face.

**Author's Note:**

> so, anyway, i'm keeping the chapters short so i can hopefully update more often. let me know what you think :D


End file.
